Around 130 members of Dubbo’s business community will gather at Taronga Western Plains Zoo for the chamber’s finalists night.

Those named in each category will then have a short wait to find out if they have been successful when the Rhinos are held at the Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre on October 13.

Dubbo Chamber of Commerce president Matt Wright said the finalists night was a chance to recognise those businesses and individuals and give them a chance to network.

“One thing that really jumped out at us this year was the number of first-time entrants across categories and they have added to the diversity of the businesses we recognise,” he said.

Mr Wright said there had been almost 3500 votes from the public in people’s choice categories, with the Service with a Smile proving particularly popular.

“It’s wonderful to see people really supporting that. We moved to completely online voting last year and people have really embraced it,” he said.

“We saw a lot of discussion on social media and people were getting in and sharing and liking posts, we really like to see that interaction.”

Both the 20^th and 21^st Rhino Awards in 2015 and 2016 were major milestone occasions and Mr Wright said the nominations this year a bit short but he was still impressed by the calibre of applications.

“The number of entries were down but we were coming off a high from the last couple of years. But talking to the NSW Business Chamber, that is in line with what other chambers across the region and the state have found,” he said.

“We’re not talking a bit drop, it’s probably about 10 per cent, and the good thing is the quality of entries has been really high and impressed the judges.

Tickets will go on sale to chamber members this week, before becoming available to the public on Monday, September 25.

They can be purchased from the chamber’s website: dubbochamber.com.au/